“A woman who had been the partner of a naval officer for over 25 years at the time of his death from disease said to derive from exposure to asbestos during his employment was in an analogous situation to that of a married woman. However, the Secretary of State for Defence was able to justify a distinction in war pension entitlement between her case and that of a married survivor.”

“Notification requirements contained in s 9 of the Pensions Appeals Tribunals Act 1943 relating to rights of appeal from decisions of the Secretary of State for Defence on war pensions claims made pursuant to the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983, and to the time limits for such appeals, did not require the provision of a single document but could be fulfilled by the provision of a letter enclosing a leaflet to which reference was made,.nor was it necessary to state the date on which the time limit for the bringing of an appeal expired. Provided the information was reasonably clear, a notice specifying that notice of appeal must be given within a specified period of a specified date sufficed. A failure to comply strictly with the requirements of s 9 did not preclude the relevant time limits for appeals from starting to run.”